1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image synthesizing apparatus for synthesizing a plurality of images, using a template having an outer frame for pasting a background image therein and at least an inner frame for pasting a main image therein.
2. Background Arts
An imaging system has been known in the art, wherein electronic images are taken out from different kinds of storage media, and are processed for correcting the image quality or for synthesizing with an optional template image, to print out hard copies of the electronic images. The imaging system consists of image input devices, a computer and a printer. As the image input devices, there are a reflective scanner that reads out electronic images from reflective originals, such as a photo-print printed on photographic paper and other kinds of printed matters printed on reflective recording material, a film scanner that reads out electronic images from negative or positive film, and a card reader that reads out digital image data from a storage card. The digital image data is picked up through an electronic still camera, called a digital still camera. The computer processes the image data from the image input device, and the printer prints out hard copies based on the processed image data.
As for the conventional imaging system, versatile image processing software is installed in a personal computer, for controlling respective components according to the image processing software. When, for example, an image read out from a reflective original through a reflective scanner is to be synthesized with an image photographed by a digital still camera, the image data of the reflective original and the image data supplied from the digital still camera must be previously stored in the personal computer in the conventional imaging system, and thereafter the imaging software is started up to open the image read out through the reflective scanner and the image from the digital still camera separately from each other. Then, a cropping area is designated in one of these images, and is copied and pasted in an appropriate position on the other image.
Accordingly, it takes a lot of complicated operations and a certain time to get an expected synthetic image in the conventional imaging system, though it is capable of executing a lot of functions. Beside that, since the crop boundary is variable in shape as well as in size from a pasting frame in which the cropped image is to be pasted, regardless of whether it is expected or not, it has been difficult to match the shape of the cropping area to the shape of the pasting frame.